Life at Sea Cruises is a brand that offers travelers a chance to live on a cruise ship. The journey across the globe is marketed as an intensive journey abroad with an unheard of duration. Extended cruise living is a somewhat recent trend that has turned out to be a riveting experience for many travelers. Instead of the usual week-long cruise, travelers can opt to book cruises that are months and even years long.
This provides travelers the opportunity to have alternative living accommodations unlike ever before. These life at sea cruises also allow digital nomads and world travelers to expand their horizons on a long-term basis. These world cruise trips are commonly all-inclusive with impressive itineraries. Travelers are encouraged to do their research on the life at sea lifestyle and choose itineraries that truly excite them. But since the nature of these cruises constitutes longer stays, most of the cruise trips include diverse and riveting experiences.
Life While Cruising
Extended journeys on the water can surely provide unique travel experiences. Around the world cruise trips provide jam-packed itineraries, distinct cultural immersion, luxury accommodations, specialty cuisine and immersive port activities. These cruises are ideal for travelers who want to hop around different countries and parts of the world. But the primary criteria for passengers of extended world cruises are those that have lots of time and money. Extended stay cruises commonly range from 100 to almost 300 days long. Obviously, those with fewer in-person obligations are better fits for these long journeys. Passengers of long world cruises are commonly C-suite level executives, entrepreneurs and retirees.
Some travelers look at extended cruises as the experience of a lifetime; for others, it is not a good fit. Life at sea can be exceptional or it can feel grueling for some travelers. If travelers commonly get motion sickness, an extended boat trip is surely not the best option. Although travelers can rely on motion sickness medication, during such a long trip it may prove difficult. Concurrently, the appeal of life on the sea is clear since there is so much opportunity to explore new places and things. These cruises are great opportunities to meet new people, have thorough travel experiences and even have a break from extensive travel planning.
So, What Is a Life at Sea Cruise?
The Life at Sea cruise (owned by Miray Cruises) was a three year voyage planned for 2023. On November 1st the cruise ship was supposed to depart from Istanbul, claiming to be the longest cruise yet. The trip was planned to last over 1,000 days and have nearly 400 port calls. The journey across the sea would have been an unprecedented global travel experience. The cruise was advertised with beginning prices around $30,000 per year. This price included accommodations and food for the full length of the trip. This journey was supposed to top the longest cruise to date, The Ultimate World Cruise by Royal Caribbean. That cruise lasted 274 nights with over 150 ports of call in over 60 countries.
Why Did the Three Year Cruise Get Canceled?
Unfortunately, the 2023 cruise was canceled shortly before it was supposed to begin. The cancellation was due to the cruise company not being properly prepared to begin the voyage. The cruise ship for the long voyage had not been acquired due to a lack of funds. Passengers could not be properly accommodated because the cruise company did not possess a large enough vessel. Sadly, many travelers had already arrived at the departure location by time the cruise was officially canceled. The decision to cancel the cruise was received by potential passengers as devastating and upsetting news, understandably. The sudden change of plans severely inconvenienced many travelers and negatively impacted the cruise line. Surprisingly, Miray is already advertising another cruise that is set to depart in November of 2024.
The Aftermath of the Cruise Cancellation
As one would assume, travelers who had planned to cruise abroad for years had to get their affairs in order before departing. Many travelers decided to sell their possessions, consolidate their belongings, liquidate their savings and even relinquish their place of residence in preparation. After paying for their trip and receiving the last-minute news that the trip had been canceled, many passengers were in disarray. Passengers of the supposed trip of a lifetime have since attempted to obtain refunds. There have even been some efforts to establish a formal criminal complaint on behalf of the passengers. Well into the beginning of 2024, the majority of passengers had not received their money back.
Alternative Cruise Options
While travelers surely need to avoid the same issues that the Life at Sea passengers experienced, there are definitely other options. There are plenty of long term cruises that travelers can select from. The options may not be as ambitious as the Miray cruise, but they are still quite exciting. Popular long term cruises include options from different cruise lines. Viking’s Viking Sky, Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise, Princess’ Island Princess, and MSC Poesia are some of the most popular alternatives. All of these cruise lines have long term trips set for 2024 or 2025. The average length of these cruises are around 100 to 200 days with prices starting around $20,000 per person, depending on the cruise package and cruise line.